One of the Most Haunted Places in the World Is a Short-ish Drive From Montana

Let me tell you a tale...

One of the coolest trips I've been on was a 3-week road trip from Montana to Alaska with my brother and grandparents when I was nine. I often say it was one of the most educational trips I've ever been on.

We set out in the summer in a Ford F-150 pulling a fifth-wheel and the first part of our trip was spent exploring Canada. I remember I was most excited about visiting the Edmonton Mall. I couldn't wrap my brain around seeing a swimming pool inside a mall at that age. But before we made our way north we spent a couple of days exploring Banff National Park and one of the evenings, we stopped in Banff for dinner.

A castle appeared...

I remember it had been a long day and we were looking for a place to eat in Banff but all the restaurants were closed, except for one. We looked toward the castle set against the mountains and surrounded by evergreens. It was the Fairmont Banff Springs but it might as well have been a vision from a dream or the castle from Beauty and the Beast. My nine-year-old self barely believed it was real.

Be our guest...

We had been hiking all day and our shorts were wrinkled and dirty. We all wore tennis shoes and windbreakers. We hardly looked like we belonged in the dining room of a 4-star hotel. But, we were hungry and my grandparents decided to give it a try.

I remember that my grandmother explained to the maître d' that we had tried to find somewhere else to eat and that we didn't feel appropriately dressed for such a nice restaurant but that she had grandchildren with her who were hungry.

The man, who if I remember correctly was wearing a tuxedo, looked at our family and then calmly said:

"You look more comfortable than me. Right this way," and he led us to our table.

Years have gone by...

The man's kindness has stuck with me for decades and I've always thought fondly of the Fairmont Banff Springs. It was a real surprise to learn today that the hotel from my childhood is considered one of the most haunted places in the world according to planetcurise.com. It has "haunted", "spooky" and "scary" mentions on Tripadvisor.

Then again, maybe the man who led us to our table was more of a "fantasy" than we realized. 👻